Investigación en el Hospital de Clínicas : la construcción de saber

Fil: Bruno, Oscar D. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Hospital de Clínicas José de San Martín. División Endocrinología; Argentina.Además de prestar asistencia médica de alta calidad y brindar docencia para los estudiantes de\nmedicina y para la formación médica de posgrado, en el Clínicas se desarrollan actividades de\ninvestigación biomédica. Con enormes dificultades, en estrecha relación con los avatares políticos de\nnuestra nación, y pese a ello, estas tareas no han cesado de desempeñarse gracias a la vocación y\nobstinación de muchos de los integrantes de esta pequeña parte de la comunidad universitaria, pero\ntambién gracias al estímulo constante que constituye la presencia de estudiantes y jóvenes médicos\návidos de conocimientos y de ejemplos éticos

Heteroskedasticity in Multiple Regression Analysis: What it is, How to Detect it and How to Solve it with Applications in R and SPSS

Within psychology and the social sciences, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression is one of the most popular techniques for data analysis. In order to ensure the inferences from the use of this method are appropriate, several assumptions must be satisfied, including the one of constant error variance (i.e. homoskedasticity). Most of the training received by social scientists with respect to homoskedasticity is limited to graphical displays for detection and data transformations as solution, giving little recourse if none of these two approaches work. Borrowing from the econometrics literature, this tutorial aims to present a clear description of what heteroskedasticity is, how to measure it through statistical tests designed for it and how to address it through the use of heteroskedastic-consistent standard errors and the wild bootstrap. A step-by-step solution to obtain these errors in SPSS is presented without the need to load additional macros or syntax. Emphasis is placed on the fact that non-constant error variance is a population-defined, model-dependent feature and different types of heteroskedasticity can arise depending on what one is willing to assume about the data. Accessed 4,952 times on https://pareonline.net from January 11, 2019 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

The association between dietary protein intake, energy intake and physical frailty : results from the Rotterdam Study

Sufficient protein intake has been suggested to be important for preventing physical frailty, but studies show conflicting results which may be explained because not all studies address protein source and intake of other macronutrients and total energy. Therefore, we studied 2504 subjects with data on diet and physical frailty, participating in a large population-based prospective cohort among subjects aged 45+ years (the Rotterdam Study). Dietary intake was assessed with a FFQ. Frailty was defined according to the frailty phenotype as the presence of at least three out of the following five symptoms: weight loss, low physical activity, weakness, slowness and fatigue. We used multinomial logistic regression models to evaluate the independent association between protein intake and frailty using two methods: nutrient residual models and energy decomposition models. With every increase in 10 g total, plant or animal protein per d, the odds to be frail were 1·06 (95 % CI 0·98, 1·15), 0·87 (95 % CI 0·71, 1·07) and 1·07 (95 % CI 0·99, 1·15), respectively, using the nutrient residual method. Using the energy partition model, we observed that the odds to be frail were lower with higher vegetable protein intake (OR per 418·4 kJ (100 kcal): 0·61, 95 % CI 0·39, 0·97), however, results disappeared when adjusting for physical activity. For energy intake from any source we observed that with every 418·4 kJ (100 kcal) increase, the odds to be frail were 5 % lower (OR: 0·95, 95 % CI 0·93, 0·97). Our results suggest that energy intake, but not protein specifically, is associated with less frailty. Considering other macronutrients, physical activity and diet quality seems to be essential for future studies on protein and frailty

OpenFermion: The Electronic Structure Package for Quantum Computers

Quantum simulation of chemistry and materials is predicted to be an important application for both near-term and fault-tolerant quantum devices. However, at present, developing and studying algorithms for these problems can be difficult due to the prohibitive amount of domain knowledge required in both the area of chemistry and quantum algorithms. To help bridge this gap and open the field to more researchers, we have developed the OpenFermion software package (www.openfermion.org). OpenFermion is an open-source software library written largely in Python under an Apache 2.0 license, aimed at enabling the simulation of fermionic models and quantum chemistry problems on quantum hardware. Beginning with an interface to common electronic structure packages, it simplifies the translation between a molecular specification and a quantum circuit for solving or studying the electronic structure problem on a quantum computer, minimizing the amount of domain expertise required to enter the field. The package is designed to be extensible and robust, maintaining high software standards in documentation and testing. This release paper outlines the key motivations behind design choices in OpenFermion and discusses some basic OpenFermion functionality which we believe will aid the community in the development of better quantum algorithms and tools for this exciting area of research.Comment: 22 page

Sarcopenia in older people with chronic airway diseases : the Rotterdam study

Sarcopenia is a heterogeneous skeletal muscle disorder involving the loss of muscle mass and function. However, the prevalence of sarcopenia based on the most recent definition remains to be determined in older people with chronic airway diseases. The aim was to evaluate sarcopenia prevalence and association with chronic airway diseases and its lung function in an older population, using the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People 2 (EWGSOP2) criteria. We performed a cross-sectional analysis in 5082 participants (mean age 69.0 +/- 8.8 years, 56% females) from the Rotterdam Study. Participants with interpretable spirometry and an available assessment of sarcopenia were included. The appendicular skeletal muscle mass index (ASMI) and handgrip strength (HGS) were assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and a hydraulic hand dynamometer, respectively. We analysed the association between sarcopenia and chronic airway diseases by using regression models adjusted for age, sex, smoking status, total fat percentage and other relevant confounders. Participants with chronic airway diseases had higher prevalence of probable sarcopenia (12.0%, 95% CI 10.2-13.8) and confirmed sarcopenia (3.0%, 95% CI 2.1-3.9) than without. Chronic airway diseases were associated with "probable sarcopenia" (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.02-1.60), "confirmed sarcopenia" (OR 2.13, 95% CI 1.33-3.43), reduced HGS (beta -0.51 (-0.90-0.11)) and reduced ASMI (beta -0.19 (-0.25-0.14)). Forced expiratory volume in 1 s <80% was associated with lower HGS (beta -1.03 (-1.75-0.31)) and lower ASMI (beta -0.25 (-0.36-0.15)) than forced expiratory volume in 1 s.80%. Sarcopenia was prevalent and associated with chronic airway diseases among older population. These results suggest the need for early diagnosis of sarcopenia in older people with chronic airway diseases by applying EWGSOP2 recommendations

Phlebotominae (Diptera: psycodidae) fauna in the Chaco region and Cutaneous Leishmaniasis transmission patterns in Argentina

In Argentina, the incidence of American Cutaneous Leishmaniasis (ACL) has shown a steady increase over the last few decades. In the Chaco biogeographical region, specifically, several outbreaks of ACL were recently reported in addition to the usual time-space scattering of ACL cases. However, little is known about the sandfly composition in the eastern, humid Chaco (HC) region or the western, dry Chaco (DC) region. Therefore, phlebotomine captures were performed throughout this region and an analysis of the distribution of reported ACL cases was conducted in order to assess the vector diversity in ACL endemic and epidemic scenarios in the Chaco region. The results support the hypothesis of two distinct patterns: (1) the DC, where Lutzomyia migonei was the most prevalent species, had isolated ACL cases and a zoonotic cycle; (2) the HC, where Lutzomyia neivai was the most prevalent species, had an increase in ACL incidence and outbreaks and an anthropozoonotic cycle. The epidemic risk in the Chaco region may be associated with the current climate trends, landscape modification, connection with other ACL foci, and Lu. neivai predominance and abundance. Therefore, changes in sandfly population diversity and density in the Chaco region are an indicator of emergent epidemic risk in sentinel capture sites.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Sex differences in lifetime risk and first manifestation of cardiovascular disease: Prospective population based cohort study

Objective: To evaluate differences in first manifestations of cardiovascular disease between men and women in a competing risks framework. Design: Prospective population based cohort study. Setting: People living in the community in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Participants: 8419 participants (60.9% women) aged ≥55 and free from cardiovascular disease at baseline. Main outcome measures: First diagnosis of coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction, revascularisation, and coronary death), cerebrovascular disease (stroke, transient ischaemic attack, and carotid revascularisation), heart failure, or other cardiovascular death; or death from non-cardiovascular causes. Data were used to calculate lifetime risks of cardiovascular disease and its first incident manifestations adjusted for competing non-cardiovascular death. Results: During follow-up of up to 20.1 years, 2888 participants developed cardiovascular disease (826 coronary heart disease, 1198 cerebrovascular disease, 762 heart failure, and 102 other cardiovascular death). At age 55, overall lifetime risks of cardiovascular disease were 67.1% (95% confidence interval 64.7% to 69.5%) for men and 66.4% (64.2% to 68.7%) for women. Lifetime risks of first incident manifestations of cardiovascular disease in men were 27.2% (24.1

New insights into the classification and nomenclature of cortical GABAergic interneurons.

A systematic classification and accepted nomenclature of neuron types is much needed but is currently lacking. This article describes a possible taxonomical solution for classifying GABAergic interneurons of the cerebral cortex based on a novel, web-based interactive system that allows experts to classify neurons with pre-determined criteria. Using Bayesian analysis and clustering algorithms on the resulting data, we investigated the suitability of several anatomical terms and neuron names for cortical GABAergic interneurons. Moreover, we show that supervised classification models could automatically categorize interneurons in agreement with experts' assignments. These results demonstrate a practical and objective approach to the naming, characterization and classification of neurons based on community consensus